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Browns owners are among the largest donors in an effort to stop the anti-gerrymandering issue
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Browns owners are among the largest donors in an effort to stop the anti-gerrymandering issue

COLUMBUS – Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam are among the biggest individual backers of the campaign to defeat state No. 1 in November.

The issue, a proposed constitutional amendment, would scrap the state’s current redistricting system, controlled by elected state government politicians who draw maps for Ohio’s state House and congressional legislative districts, and replace it with a new Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission which excludes political figures from participation.

In its pre-election campaign finance report filed Thursday with the Ohio secretary of state, the Ohio Works campaign to defeat the issue listed $100,000 — $50,000 each — in contributions from the Haslams that were made in late August delivered.

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Only one couple, retired Cincinnati developer David Warner, a longtime Republican supporter, and his wife Geraldine, have made larger individual contributions. They donated a combined $151,000 to the anti-Issue 1 campaign.

The Haslams, who also own the Columbus Crew football franchise, have been prolific contributors to Ohio political campaigns. Their latest contributions come as they seek public funding for a football stadium in northeastern Ohio.

Last week, the team said it was focusing on abandoning its current lakefront stadium and instead building a new $2.4 billion domed stadium at Brook Park. The Haslams are seeking about $1.2 billion in public support, half of which they want from the state.

Although the Haslams have given to candidates from both parties, they have been strong supporters of Republicans. Jimmy Haslam’s brother, Bill, was the Republican governor of Tennessee.

They endorsed Sen. Matt Dolan as a challenger to Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who hosted a fundraiser for Dolan during last year’s primary season.

After the primaries were won by Bernie Moreno, the Haslams donated to his campaign. Records show they gave Moreno $50,000 each in mid-August. Other members of their family donated a total of another $45,000, records show.

The couple were also among the top contributors to Senator Matt Huffman’s campaign, donating more than $15,000 each. Huffman, the current president of the Ohio Senate.

Huffman, whose term is limited to the Senate, is a candidate to become speaker of the House of Representatives next year. He was a key figure on the Ohio Redistricting Commission, which repeatedly produced redistricting maps that the Ohio Supreme Court declared unconstitutional.